Title: The Secret Life of Dreamers
Author: finnijer/ Voldemort's Spawn
Target/Approx. length: Mid-length fic (multi-chap, 5000-14000 words)
Prompt: Team reunites after several years and everyone brings their kids. Original LJ Inception Kink Prompt Here For cobb_ariadne Valentine's Day Challege
Rating: T
Summary: After four years, Ariadne gets back into contact with Arthur. She invites him and his family to come over and have dinner with hers. Life changes in four years and the shock is there for everyone.
A/N: I forgot to mention that the whole No Sex in dream thing from last chapter is NOT my idea. It was someone else's and I forget who but I thought it was an interesting concept... anyways, not my idea! Just throwing that out there. And I totally vented my loathing for Dora through Arthur. If it wasn't for me I'm sure the kids would be watching her… sorry XD
Did I mention that writing Dom and Ariadne and Eames and Arthur in the domestic setting is WEIRD? O_O I'm telling you… it's hard… very hard. Enjoy!
As soon as she turned off the car, doors were thrown open and shut. Ariadne watched in amusement as her two oldest children ran to the front door and into the house. After grabbing her purse, she stepped out of the car and peered into the back window. Just as she suspected, her three-year-old was fast asleep.
"Ty," She whispered once the door was open and gave him a light nudge on the arm.
He groaned and brought his hands up to his face rubbing his brown eyes. He was still pouting when he looked up at his mother.
"Did you have a nice nap?" she smiled unbuckling him.
"No. No nap mama," he shook his head in protest.
"Okay," she smiled knowing better to fight with him. "Let's go inside and tell daddy what you did at school today."
Ty's pout became a toothy grin and he allowed her to take him out of the seat and place him on the ground. The second his feet hit the ground, he ran to the door.
"Titus, please don't run."
Her words feel on deaf ears as she shut the trunk. Her son was already waiting patiently by the door, still too short to reach the knob and open it himself. He watched her with his wide brown eyes and no sooner was the knob turned did he push it further enough to allow him to slip inside. She followed behind him, watching his blonde hair bounce and shake. She made a mental note it was time for Ty to get a haircut soon.
"You're home early," Ariadne called out, placing her purse and keys on the hall table and shutting the door. "Dom?"
She started towards their bedroom but a shout from the kitchen made her turn back. She found her husband and her two-year-old over by the stove. Dom was holding Ty, who was stirring a pot with wooden spoon, both hands clasped tightly around the handle.
"Good job, champ," Dom told him once he took back the spoon.
Ty grinned and looked back to see Ariadne.
"Spaghetti, mama!" He exclaimed.
"I see that," she returned his enthusiasm and walked over to them. She maneuvered around Ty and kissed Dom on the cheek. "When did you get home?"
"We're in the production stage and there wasn't much for me to do. I left about one." He adjusted Ty in his arms and reached over to turn down the sauce on the stove.
"Titus," Ariadne addressed her son. "Did you tell daddy what you did in school today?"
"I-I can count this many." Ty held out both his hands stretching all his fingers out.
"And how many is that?" Dom asked with a smile.
"Ten."
"Really?" He replied amused.
"And- and with- with my toes, it's twenty."
While his son beamed at him, Dom glanced back at Ariadne with a raised brow.
"He's the only one that can count to twenty," she beamed proudly.
"Well aren't you a genius." Ty giggled when Dom kissed him on the forehead and then sat him down. Once on the floor, he instantly began to run out the room.
"Stay in the living room." Ariadne called out and watched intently to make sure her son listened. She broke her gaze when she was certain Ty was going to stay put in the living room entrance playing with his Legos.
"Where's Phillipa?" Dom asked placing a lid on the sauce and turned on another burner. "I saw James; another science project? How many can they have in one school year?"
"This one isn't mandatory. It's for a contest."
She went and took a seat at the kitchen table, glancing over the papers from Dom's work before turning back to her husband.
"A contest? Second graders have contests?"
"That's what the paper said," she shrugged. "He likes it so why not let him."
"My son is going to grow up to be a chemist," he grumbled as he placed noodles into a boiling pot.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Ariadne laughed. She quickly calmed herself and answered his previous question. "Phillipa's probably outside." She peered through the window across from her. "She in her usual spot."
Dom took a step back too look as well. Sure enough, his daughter was sitting in the hammock between the two closer trees to the house. She was putting her dark hair up in a ponytail, more than likely to keep the wind from blowing it in her face as she read. Her textbook lay open in front of her and her backpack lay against the right tree on the ground.
"She looks more and more like Mal every day," he said offhandedly.
"She does," Ariadne murmured in agreement.
There was a silent moment before Dom changed the subject. "Take a guess at who called me today."
"My mother," Ariadne rolled her eyes. "I told her I was going to be busy this week but the woman never listens."
"No," he chuckled, "Although I'm certain she thought about it. It was Eames."
"Eames!" she exclaimed with a grin. "So he got the email? Did Arthur call as well? I was so worried the addresses wouldn't work."
"Arthur didn't call but Eames informed me they'd both be attending our 'soiree' as he called it." Dom chuckled. "He also ranted for twenty minutes as to how offended they were that we did not invite them to the wedding."
Ariadne's grin became a frown and her brows knitted together. "But we didn't have a-"
"I know." Dom sighed.
"We had a reception and I sent out-"
"I know."
She paused and looked off, thinking. With one quick look to make sure Ty was still in her viewing range, she leaned against the back of the chair and propped her chin on her arm that she laid across the top.
"I suppose this is a good thing," she said thoughtfully. "We know they didn't snub us on purpose."
Dom hummed in agreement, taking the pasta off the stove.
"Will you grab that for me?" He asked.
Ariadne got up and put the strainer in the sink. Once the pasta was properly drained she placed it in a bowl while he put something in the oven.
"Well," he said as he set the timer. "They go us back so technically we're even."
"What do you mean got us back?"
Dom turned off the burners before following Ariadne to sit at the table. She stared patiently until he as seated, waiting for her husband to speak. That was the one thing that bugged her about him; he'd make you wait in order to build suspense.
"Arthur and Eames officially became, I guess married but he didn't specifically say that. He just mentioned they were together now. They've got kids too, a boy and a girl."
She blinked and finally forced out: "What?"
"Yeah, life's funny sometimes." He added nonchalantly.
"What?" Ariadne said louder and with more hysteria. "Our Eames and Arthur! Our Eames and Arthur- they got married?"
"It appears that way," Dom eyed his wife with surprise. He didn't think she'd take it this badly.
"How can you be calm!" she said hastily with wide-eyed disbelief. "Did you not hear what you just said?"
"Yes I heard what I just said, I said it," he broke into a smile. "But I think you're taking this way out of proportion."
"Dom, it is Eames and Arthur; Eames and Arthur… together." She flopped back to press against the back of her chair and stared at the table. "They're together. Together, Dom… and they have kids… together!"
"I am aware, Aria. I spoke with them." He paused and leaned onto the table to look his wife. "That's not a problem is it?"
"What?" She asked looking up. "No! Oh no, it's just… I never thought… Eames and Arthur?" She tilted her head.
"You'd be surprised." He chuckled. "I'm more shocked it took so long for them to get there. They've been dancing around each other for nearly a decade."
"Really?"
Ariadne scooted back towards the table and ran her hand through her hair as she leaned on the top of it. She wondered how she could have missed the signs. She was a smart girl, even then. She should have picked up on what was going on between them.
"I've known Arthur for a long time. He always acted different around Eames." Dom shrugged, "He always seemed he was trying to prove something to him; like he was trying to impress him. Eames was the same way."
"Huh," she said still in mild disbelief, "I guess I just assumed since Arthur kissed me and got all smug about it that he wasn't into guys."
"Arthur got all smug about it because his trick worked and you fell for it." Dom laughed shaking a finger at her. "We were extracting once with Eames and the projections got restless. The man we were extracting was 'in the closet' so to speak because he was a politician. Arthur got Eames to kiss him and the projections still didn't calm down. We finished job and once awake Eames punched him in the nose."
"Ow, that's a bit harsh don't you think?" She winced.
"I think he and Arthur switched bodies at some point," he shrugged and glanced out of habit over at his son, who was building something. "It wasn't until after, you know, Mal died that Arthur became the serious man he was when you met him. I think he buried himself in his work to cope. I don't know what happened to Eames. On one job he's serious, the next he's pulling pigtails."
"Eames and Arthur," she shook her head in disbelief. "So they'll be able to make it? Where do they live now, did he say?"
"You're going to laugh."
"Try me."
"Conway, South Carolina." She immediately bit her lip and covered her mouth. "I told you."
"South Carolina?" She grinned, "What in the world possessed them to live in South Carolina?"
"She has name, it's Amelia." Ariadne gave him a confused look and he added, "Arthur's mother. He's always been close to her and from what Eames told me, he didn't mind living in the same town. Apparently she volunteers to keep the kids a lot."
"Sounds like my mother." She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Only she lives an hour away."
"Mama! Daddy!" Ty called to them interrupting their conversation. They both looked over to see him run toward them and he grabbed Ariadne's hand. "Come see!" They followed him into the living room and he pointed grinning. "See?"
One the floor was his Legos he was playing with earlier. Instead of scattered on the floor, they were arranged in the form of a tall skyscraper-like building.
"Ty, you made this by yourself?" Ariadne asked in awe and received a nod.
"What's it supposed to be," Dom asked in genuine curiosity. He'd seen a design similar to the rough-draft that was his son's building but he could not remember where.
"Like yous daddy," he replied.
He thought for a moment as Ariadne gave him a questioning look. Then realization set in.
"Like my drawings in the study?"
"Yeah," Ty grinned.
"I need to take a picture of this." Ariadne said hastily and ran down the hall to the bedroom. She grabbed the camera off the dresser and returned, snapping a shot once the camera turned on.
"You likes it daddy?"
"Yes, we love it." Dom told him. The timer went off in the kitchen and he went back to turn it off.
"Why don't you go get your brother," Ariadne ruffled Ty's hair. "Tell him to come and help me set the table."
"Okay mama."
Ty ran down the hall to the study where James was and Ariadne turned off the camera, walking back into the kitchen.
"He's building," she said in astonishment.
Ariadne put the camera on the counter next to the refrigerator on the right side of the room. She then took down some plates from the cabinet above and walked over to start placing them on the table. Dom took the pan out of the oven and started putting the contents on the stove into serving bowls.
"Our kids are geniuses, Dom." She added with a smile.
"Geniuses, maybe; it looks more like we're raising a team to me," he joked. "A Chemist, Architect, and I swear Phillipa's a mini-Arthur. Maybe we should have another to round up the list; all we need's an Extractor."
"Um no," She replied seriously. "Three is enough. And you're forgetting the Forger." She paused, "Eames and Arthur have two kids right?"
"Yeah," he said handing her utensils to put on the table.
"See problem solved," Ariadne stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "We can get them a PASIV for Christmas and they'll be all set."
"Not on my watch," he muttered. "Joking aside, I'm hoping they'll never learn what a PASVI is."
Ariadne was going to make a remark to that but was cut off when her sons trampled into the kitchen.
"I think I know what I want to make," James said as soon as he skidded to a stop. "You'll help me 'Ande?"
"Sure, what did you decide on?" She asked over her shoulder as she opened the window. "Phillipa," she called.
The young girl in the hammock startled and looked up in the direction of the house, her blue eyes wide. Ariadne scooted closer to the window so Dom could walk behind her to place the bowls onto the middle of the table.
"Yes, ma'am?" Phillipa called back.
"Come inside, dinner's ready."
Phillipa nodded and began to gather her things, stuffing them into her backpack.
"Mama, can I help?" Ty asked, trying to get the attention directed at him.
"I think we got it, champ." Dom answered for his wife and pulled out a chair from the table. "Come over here and have a seat."
Ariadne grabbed glasses and filled them with water while Dom placed the last of the serving bowls onto the table.
"I want make fake snot." James beamed, sitting in a chair next to Ty.
"Ew," Phillipa was now inside and dropped her backpack onto the couch before walking to the table. "Dad, you're not going to let him do that are you?"
"We'll talk about it," he replied and added "After dinner."
"Unless your father poisons us with his cooking," Ariadne joked.
"You could have stopped me at any point," he countered, taking a seat.
"And cook myself? I don't think so," she flashed him a smile.
Once everyone was at the table and still (Ty was playing his own version of musical chairs without getting out of his seat), they ate dinner. Later, once dishes were put away and the table cleaned, Dom decided that James could make fake snot as long as he did not try to place it in his sister's hair as he did with the last project he created. It wasn't until late in the evening long after Ty was put to bed and the other children sent to their rooms for bed as well that Ariadne finally checked her email.
She had Dom read Arthur's message and confirmed that it was similar to the ranting he received from Eames. In response, she sent a simple note requesting if he and Eames would be joining them for the date she listed and added in her and Dom's current address. The next morning she would get a reply that yes, they would and she would spend the whole day happily making plans.